


The Black Paladin

by kylinwrites



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Death Scene, Fanart, M/M, Minor descriptions of blood and pain, black paladin lance, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 10:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15434946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylinwrites/pseuds/kylinwrites
Summary: Once he stood up, Lance knew what to do. What he needed to do. It was his turn to fight for his friends, for his family, for humanity. He needed to pick up where they left off as the last paladin of Voltron.___Keith spends his last moments alive in Lance's arms.





	The Black Paladin

**Author's Note:**

> These two songs heavily inspired the idea for this fic.  
> [You by Keaton Henson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00TkOfmxbec)  
> [Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTeKpWp8Psw)
> 
> [Here's the art I did for this.](https://www.instagram.com/p/BlraUYlHbFD/?taken-by=kylinart)

“No, I’m not ready...” The words came out in a forced whisper, “Don’t leave me, Keith! Not now, not ever!”

“Lance,” Keith had to force each word through his cracked blood-stained lips, “It will be okay.”

Lance shook his head, “No, I can’t. Please…” His eyes never left Keith’s glossy indigo ones. It was funny just how bright they looked even though Lance knew how much pain was hidden behind them.

“If you say no one more time,” Keith sharply inhaled, “I will punch you.” Lance couldn’t help but return Keith’s weak smile. He sniffed and wiped away the hot tears running down his bruised cheeks. There was a small moment of silence between them before Lance spoke.

“I’m scared.”

“I know.”

“What if I can’t lead Voltron?”

“You will. You have to.”

“But-”

“You have to, Lance. That suit represents everyone in your life who matters. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, Shiro…”

Lance couldn’t stop the ugly sob from escaping his lips when he heard those names. They were his friends, his family even, and now they were gone. Keith was the last one left and Lance would do anything to keep him by his side. To keep him alive. 

“... and me.” It was Keith’s turn to cry as he finished his sentence. His hand shakily lifted up to caress the other boy’s cheek.

Keith’s shoulders harshly jerked forward as a cough ripped through him, leaving blood on the hand that attempted to suppress it. 

“Keith…”

“I’m fine.”

Instead of denying it, Lance nodded.

“I am glad to have met you,” the Cuban boy choked out. Keith looked into Lance’s deep blue eyes. He remembers those blue eyes when they nervously darted around the room as Lance told Keith how he felt. He remembers the first time he woke up next to Lance, gently smoothing back his chestnut hair, waiting patiently for his lover to wake up. He remembers their first passionate night and how those eyes drowned in the desire for him. They alone told Keith how much Lance loved him. He remembers the night he found Lance sitting alone in the control room, staring out of the windows and into an infinity full of stars while tears rolled down his cheeks. That same night, Lance curled up against Keith’s chest while he told stories of his home in Cuba and how much he misses his family. Keith never forgot how much life he saw in those blue eyes.

Now, those same eyes drowned in tears as his own breathing grew shallower and shallower. 

“I love you.” 

Lance spoke those three words. Those three little words that held so much meaning in them.

“I love you, Lance. I always have.”

Keith’s eyes slowly began to close.

“Keith, you gotta stay with me, at least for a little longer,” Lance couldn't stop the voice screaming in his head, reminding him that Keith, in fact, couldn’t survive this. He knew it wasn’t lying.

Even then, Keith weakly opened his eyes.

“Remember the first time I went to kiss you and Pidge walked in,” Lance began.

“And you fell out off the couch,” Keith smiled, “You’re such a klutz.”

Lance couldn’t help but sigh a laugh. There had been many times where similar occurrences happened and each time Keith would give him shit for it. 

They both grew quiet again as Lance committed Keith’s face to memory. Blood covered half of Keith’s face, trailing down to his neck and matted his hair. He could feel fear beginning to rise in his chest.

“Te amo y mas, mi amor,” Lance whispered as he leaned over Keith, pressing their foreheads together.

Before Keith got a chance to say goodbye, his eyelids slid shut and his body grew heavy in his lover’s arms.

After a few moments of silence, Lance lifted his head up.

“Keith…”

He didn’t move.

“Keith, come on buddy, wake up.”

He didn’t wake up.

“This isn’t funny, you know. I know how much you like to pull pranks on me but now’s not the time.”

Only the sound of Lance’s own breathing could be heard among the silence. 

“Keith-” his next sentence was cut short when he pulled Keith towards his chest and let out a gut-wrenching sob. The pain came in waves as memories of Keith all tried replaying at once. His mind and his heart were screaming for Keith. They ached for him. This kind of pain hurt more than any physical wound Lance ever had in his life. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see, everything in his world was blocked out in darkness except for Keith’s pale face in his hands.

___

The sobbing continued until there were no tears left to cry anymore.

The foreign planet’s setting sun projected bright hues of oranges, pinks, and purples across the sky. When Lance gained the strength to, he gently laid Keith across the soft ground while his shaking hands worked to rest Keith’s heavy arms over his chest. He picked a group of blue flower-esque plants from the plant bed Keith laid on and placed them in his lover’s empty hands. He bent down and kissed his lover’s forehead one last time, taking in their last moment together.

Once he stood up, Lance knew what to do; what he needed to do. It was his turn to fight for his friends, for his family, for humanity. He needed to pick up where they left off as the last paladin of Voltron. 

He picked up Shiro’s beaten up black and white helmet off the ground, sliding it over his head. 

“It’s my turn now,” he whispered to himself as he clicked the helmet into place. 

All five lions knelt down in front of him as he began to walk towards the Black Lion, leaving Keith to peacefully rest under the stars.


End file.
